A widely used type of electrical cable comprises a plurality of spaced-apart parallel coplanar conductors which are embedded in plastic insulation material. Electrical connection to the conductors in the cable is made by installing a multi contact electrical connector on the cable. The connector has a cable-receiving face with terminals extending therefrom. The terminals have slots that are positioned to receive the conductors of the cable therein. The electrical connection is effected as the terminals are forced through the cable, causing the conductors to enter the slots and establish electrical contact therewith. Thus, the mere installation of the connector on the cable also brings about an electrical connection between the terminals in the connector and the corresponding respective conductors in the cable.
Problems can arise when the connector is installed on the cable because the cable cannot be manufactured to the same precise dimensional standards as can the connector. Consequently, spacing between adjacent conductors may vary within given tolerance limits. U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,695 explains this problem in detail and presents a solution for certain types of flat cable, particularly cable of the type in which each conductor is surrounded by a substantially cylindrical insulating sheath and each insulating sheath is connected to the next adjacent insulating sheath by a thin flexible web of plastic material. At the time the above identified patent was written, the minimum spacing between adjacent conductors in a flat conductor cable was 0.05 (1.27 mm) inches and it was, therefore, feasible to provide the thin connecting web between adjacent conducting sheaths in the cable, as taught by the referenced patent.
In more recent times, cable suppliers have begun to produce flat multiconductor cable in which adjacent conductors are spaced apart by only 0.025 inches (0.63 mm). With this tight spacing, it is impractical to manufacture the cable with a thin web as explained and shown in the above identified application. Because of the close spacing of the conductors, it is necessary that the insulating material extend as an almost continuous mass with the conductors embedded in the insulating material. Consequently, the thickness of the insulating material varies only slightly across the width of the cable. Furthermore, the manufacturing difficulties of producing this relatively fine cable results in wide tolerances in the dimensions between the outside conductors of the cable, referred to as the span tolerance of the cable. As a result, problems can be encountered when a connector is installed on a cable with closely spaced conductors, some of the conductors in the cable may not line up with the proper terminals in the connector as the installation occurs. Consequently, shorting between adjacent conductors can be caused if a single terminal in the connector contacts two conductors in the cable, resulting in an ineffective electrical connection between the terminals of the connector and the conductors of the cable.
Patent Application Ser. No. 853,072 describes one solution to the problem described above. The closely spaced multiconductor cable is reworked and sized so that a connector can be installed on the reworked portion of the cable. In accordance with application Ser. No. 853, 072, a portion of the flat multiconductor cable is clamped between opposed first and second clamping surfaces. As clamping occurs, at least some of the conductors of the portion of the cable are moved laterally in the conductor plane relative to the conductor axes with accompanying deformation of the plastic insulating material between adjacent conductors. The movement of the conductors causes a reduction in the span tolerance of the portion of the cable, such that when the clamped position is reached, the portion of the cable is accurately positioned. Thereafter, holes are punched between adjacent conductors portion of the cable, thereby providing openings between the conductors and providing the configuration required to allow a connector to be reliably connected to the cable. The portion of the cable is then unclamped and as a result of the operation, the portion of the cable is sized and reworked and the span tolerance is reduced. The problem involved with this type of solution is that the cable must be handled too often. In other words, it would be less time consuming, cheaper, and more effective if the connector could be terminated in one step, without the need to first rework the cable in a separate operation.